Has Devolution Delivered?

Catherine Bromley and John Curtice

Abstract

One of the key aims of devolution in Scotland was to change the way people felt about their country and the way they were governed. This book draws on a range of Scottish Election Studies and Scottish Social Attitudes surveys to explore the early success — or otherwise — of devolution in meeting this objective. It asks how the Scottish public has reacted to the initial experience of devolution, and the lessons this experience might have for the future of devolution. The following questions are considered: How have public attitudes towards the governance of Scotland within the Union evolved fro ... More

One of the key aims of devolution in Scotland was to change the way people felt about their country and the way they were governed. This book draws on a range of Scottish Election Studies and Scottish Social Attitudes surveys to explore the early success — or otherwise — of devolution in meeting this objective. It asks how the Scottish public has reacted to the initial experience of devolution, and the lessons this experience might have for the future of devolution. The following questions are considered: How have public attitudes towards the governance of Scotland within the Union evolved from pre-devolution to the end of the first term of the Scottish Parliament? What has happened to support for the principal advocates for leaving the Union, the SNP? Why are fewer people voting in devolved elections than in UK elections? To what degree does the behaviour of those who vote reveal a sense of involvement in the work of the Parliament? What are voters' attitudes to the additional member electoral system? Who are regarded as fellow Scots by those who are all themselves ‘Scottish’? What are Scots' attitudes towards the Pakistani and English minorities in Scotland? The book presents a comprehensive analysis of the Scottish public's evolving view of devolution.